Over the course of the last couple of years, I’ve been using Eizo monitors exclusively for everything from retouching to print proofing still images. They’ve been an invaluable asset in my editing workflow for stills, but something that I don’t often mention is that I also use them as my main video editing monitor. Why? Because the technology affords a smart workflow that fits my lifestyle and my mindset as an artist. I appreciate Refined Simplicity.

MY GEAR

I currently own two Eizo monitors, an Eizo CG318-4K and an Eizo CG2420. The Eizo CG318-4K has become my main editing workhorse at home. The CG2420 has become my main staple on set. Why? Simply because I appreciate having a larger screen to edit on while I’m retouching. It allows me to see images in their entirety and also let’s me see them at pixel level in larger format for more complicated retouching. The CG2420 is more of a staple at the studio, but I’ve also used it for late night photo and video editing when the job calls for it.

CONTRAST AND COLOR GRADING

Hands down, the BIGGEST reason that I use Eizo monitors is that I love the ability to see contrast and colors as they're meant to be. These days, I've started shooting my Sony a6300 in a really flat picture profile to maximize the dynamic range that I'm able to see. This allows me to avoid clipping either blacks or whites and also allows me much more flexibility and control in color grading my video content. (See image below of grade vs. ungraded footage.)

Remember that video content lives as it's filmed. You don't have the same flexibility editing video content as you do still unless you're using flat profiles like 'Cine Style' which is going to produce a very flat profile for video content. However, in doing so, you're going to have to add color profiles in post production and then color grade the content. You want a monitor that can accurately display what you're trying to showcase in your content. That's the neat and clean version of why I've chosen to use Eizo monitors for video editing. If you want a "techy" version of why, then you'll have to read below. :)

FIND A MONITOR FOR YOUR COLOR SPACE

If you’re a photographer or videographer working a particular color space, say Adobe RGB (photographers) or Rec. 709 (videographers), you want to invest in a monitor that’s going to be able to display the particular color space you’re working in, so that you can accurately judge colors as they’ll be displayed on your end source. For instance, if you’re going to print in Adobe RGB, then you should probably see your photo in Adobe RGB. If you’re going to be screening a movie on a project that displays Rec. 709, then you want to editing the colors on a monitor that displays Rec. 709. That’s simply the most practical workflow to guarantee your colors are always accurate.

For my personal work, I don’t need to shoot in a Rec. 709 format. Most of my video productions will end up being displayed on computer monitors or TVs and will never end up in the theatre, so I can edit my video content on both the CG318-4K or CG2420 and get away with a solid color management workflow.

Let’s be clear, most monitors cannot display every color space. At the time of writing this blog post, many monitors on the market are still not capable of showing the Adobe RGB color space. You are editing your images in SRB and aren’t see the full gamut of the color space you’re exporting in. Effectively, you’re just shooting in the dark so to speak. Adding to that, the Rec. 709 color space is essentially impossible to find in consumer grade monitors, you’re going to need to invest in a professional grade color reference monitor if that’s your end color space. For instance, the Eizo CG318-4K is capable of displaying Rec. 709, while the CG2420 is not.

MIND YOUR FRAMES PER SECOND

Every monitor will have a different maximum frame rate that it's capable of displaying. If you're looking for your FIRST video editing monitor, I'll make it simple: You want to find a monitor that is capable of displaying the FPS that you're going to be videoing in. For instance, if you're recording video in 60fps, and your monitor is only capable of displaying 48Hz or 48 refreshes per second, then you're not seeing those extra 12 frames.

Hz is a cycle per second. It refers to how many times your screen refreshes per second.